Authorized access means for safes or the like



May 25, 1937- R. MclLVAlNE 2,081,757

AUTHORIZED ACCESS MEANS FOR SAFES OR THE LIKE Filed Nov. s, 1934 fsheets-sheet 1 j /j 7726/ j] g jo y jj l j? Il l z f7 Z9 1 l Z0 3a i f53,6. biz

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AUTHORIZED ACCESS .MEANS FOR SAFES QR THE-LIKE Filed Nov. 9, 1934 2sheets-sheet 2- l fra/engel# .oerf L.MCfZz/C72 Patented May 25, 1937UNITED STATES' oFFlcE AUTHORIZED ACCESS MEANS FOR SAFES OR THE LIKERobert L. Mcllvaine, Richmond, Ind., assignor to Swayne, Robinson &Company,

Richmond,

3 Claims.

This invention relates to safes provided withy closures carryingpermutation locking mechanism and more particularly to small wall safesor other burglar-proof receptacles for homes, oflices and small placesof business where small amounts of money and valuables may be desired tobe safeguarded temporarily.

Among other objects, the invention aims to provide an improved safe forthis purpose and desirably includes means for preventing access to thecombination mechanism except by persons having not only knowledge of thecorrect combination but also in possession of a key for operating thecombination, Thus, not only may the combination be varied, as iscustomary, but also the starting or zero point for different safes maybe so varied that even though a person may know the series ofcombination numbers for a particular safe even though such person may beable to rotate the mechanism, without the proper key therefor, he wouldbe unable to locate the starting or Zero position and thus would beunable to open the safe.

To further this purpose, the keys may be constructed of an easilybreakable or deformable material so that they may be readily rendereduseless in an emergency.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the followingdescription, taken together with the accompanying drawings, in which-Figure 1 is a vertical axial section of my improved safe, parts beingshown in elevation and showing the closure in locked position;

Figure 2 is a cross-section taken on the line 5 2-2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a partial section similar to Figure 1 but showing theclosure in unlocked position;

Figure 4 is a plan View of one form of key shown in dotted lines inFigure 1;

Figure 5 is a reduced plan view of a safe adapted for the key of Figure4;

Figure 6 is a slightly different key;

Figure '7 is a View similar to Figure 5 showing a safe adapted for thekey of Figure 6;

Figure 8 is a longitudinal section of the key of Figures 4 and 6, beinga section taken on the line 8-8 of Figure 4; and

Figure 9 is a partial plan view of a structure similar to Figure 1 butwith a key associated therewith having modified indicating meansthereon.

Referring in detail to the illustrative construction shown in thedrawings, the safe body I0 is advantageously made of a single materiallyheavy y casting of iron or the like with the hollow interior II andclosure-receiving opening I2 in one end thereof, this opening I2 beingdesirably interiorly threaded to receive in screw engagement therewiththe threaded closure I3, as is clear from Figure 1 of the drawings. 5;

'I'he closure I3, which is of material similar to the body Il) and asshown is relatively long axially to be received to a considerable depthin the body I0, is axially recessed as at I4 to house suitable lockingmechanism indicated generally by 10;

the numeral I5.

When the closure i3 has been screwed into the body I0 so that the outerface IB of the closure is substantially flush with the outer face I'I ofthe body, and in a given relative rotative 15 position of the closurewith respect to the body which may be known when the fixed arrow orother marking I8 (see Fig. 5) yon the closure is in register with thexed arrow I9 on the body, the klocking bolt 20 extending radially of the20 closure is then received in a radially extending recess 2| in thebody, to prevent rotation of `the closure and body and thus to preventaccess to the interior II of the safe. Wings 22 integral with theclosure facilitate rotation thereof by affording a finger grasp thereon.

The locking mechanism I5 as a whole is maintained in fixed positionwithin the recess I 4 of the closure, in this instance by abacking-plate 23, which in the main is a flat circular metallic plate ofslightly less diameter than the closure and adapted to abut shoulders 24spaced about the interior II of the safe, when the closure is in lockedposition. This abutment of the backing-plate 23 and shoulders 24 guardsagainst any 35 attempt to drive the locking mechanism inwardly. Theshoulders 24 may be provided by ribs 25 running lengthwise of the safeinterior and integral with the body lil,` there being preferably atleast three of these ribs. As here shown also, the plate 23 may havereduced circumferentially segmental block portions 26, in this instancetwo of these, extending into the recess I4 in the closure and into acounterbored portion 2'I thereof ofv advantageously jointly rectangularcross-section,v thus preventing rotation of the backingplate withrespect to the closure. Block portions 26 are spaced apart so that thebolt 23 may move therebetween and in their opposed faces the blockportions are cut out arcuately. Screws 28 pass 50 through the plate 23and block portions 26 into threaded engagement with the closure and theplate may clamp between its block portions 26 and an axial shoulder 29in the closure, the baseplate 3U of the locking mechanism I5. The base-55 l plate 3U is also of rectangular shape to t rather snugly into thecounter-bored recess 27, thus preventing rotation of the main portion ofthe locking mechanism I5 which may be cylindrical and .may be receivedin the main recess I4 which may be also cylindrical. The base plate ofthe locking mechanism may be riveted to the main casing I5a thereof asby lugs 3| (Fig. 2) passing through the base-plate and turned thereover.

The locking bolt 20 is desirably of solid cylindrical form about 3A; ofan inch lin diameter for one size of the safe described and is of rolledsteel or other strong material having a somewhat-rounded nose portion 32so as to facilitatesliding the bolt into the recess 2| in thebody. Forreciprocation the bolt 4passes through an aperture 33 in the closurewhich communicates with a lateral enlargement 34 of the recess I4. Ashere shown, the bolt 29 has a relatively flat reduced shank 35 which isperforated to have passed therethrough a relatively small link pin 36,which may screw into a reciprocable locking plate 37. The pin 36 isdesirably frangible so that if anyone should succeed in damaging thelock, the pin V35 would break leaving the bolt l2 llV in lockedposition. rI 'he base plate 39 is convenientlyV cut away as at 38 topermit yreciproca-4 tion of the bolt 20 to the position shown in Fig. 3in`which `the bolt is withdrawn lfrom the recess 2| of the bodypermitting withdrawal of the closure I3 for access to the safeinterior.` The locking plate 37 has a flat enlarged portion 39 whichlies within the locking mechanism casing |511 and in the edge of thisportion may be formed notches 49 and 4I. A spring detent -42 anchoredwithin the locking mechanism 'has a hump 43 thereon which is resilientlyreceived in the notch 40, whenv the locking plate 37 and bolt 2Q are inlocked position, and in the notch 4I when these parts Yare in unlockedposition, thus yieldingly establishing the-se alternative positions ofthe lock.

Any suitable combination mechanism may be employed'in association withthe locking mecha.- nism I 5 to prevent retraction of the bolt 29 whenit is desired to lock the safe. For present purposes, it is suiicient tostate that the com bination mechanism may include a series of concentricdiscs 44, 45, 45 each of which has a peripheral notch 47 therein. Thelocking plate '37 has a stop vpin `43 thereon which is received iny thenotches '47 `when the discs 44, 45, 46 are in relative rotative positionso that all three of their peripheral notches are in register.Otherwise, the locking plate 37, because of the stop pin 48, cannot bereciprocated from its locked position. Conventional means are provided,not necessary to be here described in detail, for rotating the discs 45,49 `and 47 to place their notches in register or out of register'as maybe desired, either to unlock or lock the safe respectively. Such meansfor rotating the discs includes, `as here shown, the combinationcylinder 49 which passes through an axial opening 50' of the closure I3, but is discontinued beyond the outer face thereof -as moreparticularly described at a later point. By means of the cylinder 45,for example, to unlock the safe, disc 45 is iirst turned to a givenpredetermined rotative position which may be considered the starting orzero point of the combination, this` starting point being established,for example, when the cylinder 49, after having been turned say twocomplete rotations to the right, is then brought to rest with thecylinder in a given rotative position with respect to say the bolt 29.Means including the circumferentially-spaced bulges 5I are provided forindicating, by the click of a resilient detent (not here shown) receivedin said bulges, the degrees of partial rotation of the cylinder. Thus,continuing to turn the cylinder 49, say, eight clicks farther in thesame direction, will align, say, the notch 47 of the intermediate disc45 with the stop pin 448. Then, reversing the rotation of the cylinder,say for twelve clicks in the opposite direction, will bring notch '47 ofthe disc 45 into alignment with the stop pin 48. Thereupon reversal Aofrotation of the cylinder again and turning it say 'veclicks in the samedirection as it was originally turned will align notch 47 of disc 44with the two other notches 47 and with the stop pin 48. Thereupon thelocking plate 37 may be reciprocated to retract the bolt.

Reciprocation of the locking plate 37, as here shown, Yis accomplishedthrough a shaft 52 passing through the cylinder 49, which is hol-low forthis purpose, the shaft 52 extending beyond the outer face of theclosure in a knob`53 for manual rotation, the knob being advantageouslyknurled throughout its periphery. At its other end the shaft 52terminates .in a pinion v54 coplanar with the lockin-g plate 37 which iscentrally cut out as at y55 to receive the pinion. One edge of the plate37 along this cut-out 55 is serrated to provide a rack 55a in engagementwith the pinion 54, and which, upon Yrotation of the shaft 5I, causesreciproeation (when permitted by the discs 44, 45'and 45,) of the plate37' and with it the locking'bolt 2i). 4

As already intimated, vthe combination cylinder 49 is substantiallyprotected :from unauthorized access by Abeing 'wh-ollywithin the closureI3 and is vpractically inaccessible for rotation without the use or Vakey `56 which my invention contemplates. Such a key is illustrated inFigs. 4, 6 and 8. The key `which I have here shown is desirably ofhollow cylindrical form and is made of an aluminum die casting so as tolbe desirably brittle. It has a shank portion 55a which' telescopes overthe knob 53 and cylinder 49 in only one relative rotative position ofthe key with respect to the cylinder. `Such position is determined, V'inthis instance, by a longitudinal groove 57 inthe cylinder 49 and aradially inwardly directed nib 58 on the shank portion 56 of the key,which nib slides in the groove 57 but prevents relative rotation of thekey and cylinder when interengaged, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. l.For purposes of telescoping4 of thekey and cylinder, the cylinder isspaced from the closure affording an annular space 49a between thecylinder and the wall of the opening 50, which receives the annular keyshank 56a. The other end of the key is desirably enlarged in a thumbportion 59 which may be knurled upon its exterior and which carries anindicating mark, for example, such as the arrow 6|] (Fig. 4:7).V Theclosure I3, in accordance with my invention, is also provided with amark or arrow 6I advantageously located on one of the wings ..22, asbest shown in Fig. 5. When the key. 56 is interengaged with the`cylinder 49, my invention contemplates that it be turned until the arrow6I) on the keyregisters with the arrow ISI` on the closure. This therebydetermines a given angular distance between the arrow 5I, and, say, thegroove 57 of the cylinder, and the Ylocking mechanism may be sovadjusted that when this occurs the combination mechanism is in its rstor starting position as already explained. Having determined thisposition by means of the key, as just described, the cylinder may beplaced in its successive rotative positions in series as alreadydescribed by means of the key 56, in the usual way. That is, inthe'example above given, eight clicks to the right, twelve to the left,and ve tothe right. It will thus be understood, that without the use ofthe correct key, in this instance the key 56 (having its nib 58 locatedninety degrees from its arrow 66) the starting or zero point could notbe known, since there is nothing to indicate the correct rotativeposition of the cylinder with respect to anything on the closure, atthis starting or zero point, and therefore, mere knowledge of thecombination itself would not suflice to open the safe.

It will be noted with respect to the closure of Fig. 5, for example, andwith the key of Fig. 4, that the correct rotative position of thecylinder with respect to the closure for the starting point of thecombination occurs when the groove 51 of the cylinder is ninety degreesfrom the arrow 6I. At this time it will also be noted that the groove 51is ninety degrees from the bolt 26.

These angular distances may be varied indefinitely for different safes,so that a key 62 similar to key 56 but having its arrow 66 at adifferent angular location with respect to its nib 64, and the arrow 63aligned with the arrow 6I, would place the cylinder 49 in incorrectposition for its starting or zero point so that the safe could not beopened even though the correct combination were known.

With a safe as shown in Fig. '1, however, adapted for the key 62,knowledge of the proper combination will permit opening of the safe. Itwill be noted with the safe of Fig. '1, assuming that the first positionof the combination still occurs when the groove 51 is ninety degreesfrom the bolt 26, these relative positions of the bolt and groove 51occur when the groove 51 is at say forty-ve degrees from the arrow 6I.Since the lnib 64 of the key 62 is also forty-five degrees from thearrow 63 when ,the key 62 is used with the safe of Fig. '7, the correctstarting or zero point for the combination' will be automaticallydetermined by the key 62, as it would not be, in this instance, by thekey 56 or by any key other than a key identical with the key 62.

Instead of the arrows 66, 63 on the keys, the key might carry a seriesof clock-like numbers as indicated in Fig. 9. For example, the key 65might be used in place of the key 56 to open the safe of Fig. 5, bylocating the number 10 in alignment with the arrow 6| to determine thestarting or zero point of the combination. Thereafter the key, and withit the cylinder, might be turned a certain number of angular spaces tothe right or left as predetermined. The use of the key such as 65 wouldalso eliminate the necessity for the clicking of the lock to indicatethe amount which it is rotated, the numbers on the key serving the samepurpose. That is, with the example above given, rotating the key eightclicks to the right would be the equivalent of rotating the key 65 fromthe position shown in Fig. 9 to the rotative position where the number 2coincides with the arrow 6I, and so on as will be readily understood.

The safe, which may be otherwise portable although quite heavy, isintended to be secured in a wall, floor or the like, as by large lagscrews 66 passing through the rear wall of the body I6 with theirflaring heads countersunk in the interior II as indicated at 61, noaccess being had to the screw 66 when the safe is closed.

I desirably provide an inner container 68 fitting snugly into the spaceI I, which may be made of heat-resisting or insulating material and maybe lined with felt or the like for the reception of jewelry as well asmoney and other valuables. A cover 69 ts snugly on the container 68 andto provide means always accessible when the safe is open for withdrawingthe container, I place a loose, flexible, endless band or strap 16 aboutboth the cover 66 and container 66, the strap being retained inpermanent engagement with these parts by passing through loops 1I formedon the cover and container. Thus there is always a portion of the band16 which is accessible when the container is placed in the safe. Theband 16 is of sufficient length so that the cover may be separated fromthe container but may not be lost therefrom.l The safe may be hiddenbehind a picture, for example, or in back of a drawer in a bureau, tominimize discovery.

'I'he invention embraces, in addition to the apparatus shown, a noveland useful practice adaptable to guard against tampering with thecombination mechanism by unauthorized persons, since, for example, theowner of the safe can have two keys for the same safe, both of whichwill rotate the lock cylinder, and both of which therefore appear to bethe correct keys, but only one of these seemingly correct keys wouldopen the safe, that is only the key in which the angle between theinterengaging formations and the indicator on the key is the correctangle. Thus, under coercion, the owner of the safe might even disclosethe correct combination and could deliver up one of the keys--the wrongkey, but which appears to be the right key-all without enabling theunauthorized person to open the safe.

Having described my invention, I c1aim:-'

l'. Means for safeguarding locks including a key having a shank portionadapted to be interengaged with a rotatable cylinder in but one relativerotative position of the key and cylinder for rotation of the key andcylinder on a longitudinal axis, and a single indicator directedradially of said axis, the shank portion having a single formationinterengaging with a similar formation on said cylinder to transmitmotion from the key to the cylinder, the said formation on the key lyingin one plane passing through and extending along said axis, and the saidindicator lying in another plane passing through and extending alongsaid axis, said planes being angularly related.

2. Means for safeguarding permutation locks for safe closures or thelike having a rotatable cylinder carried by the safe and operativelyconnected with the locking mechanism for the closure and having astarting mark on the safe in the vicinity of the cylinder, said meanscomprising a key having a shank portion adapted to be interengaged withthe cylinder in but one relative rotative position of the key andcylinder for rotation of the key and cylinder on a longitudinal axis,the shank portion of the key having a formation for interengagingwithasimilarformation on said cylinder to transmit motion from the keyto the cylinder, said key also having a fixed indicator directedradially of said axis, the said formation on the key lying in one planepassing through and extending along said axis and the said indicatorlying in another plane passing through and extending along said axis,said with the cylinder in but one relative rotative position of the keyand cylinder for rotation of the key and cylinder on a longitudinalaxis, said shank portion having a single formation interengaging with asimilar formation on said cylinder to transmit motion from the key tothe cylinder, and aV single indicator on said key directed radially ofsaid axis, the said formation and said indicator being disposed atspaced-apart locations circumferentially of said tubular shank 10portion.

ROBERT L. MCILVAINE.

